Diverter valve



1G. F. HURST DIVERTER' VALVE Feb. 4, 1947.

Filed Sept. 23. 1942 INVENTOR.

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Patented Feb. 4, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE 'DIVEETER VALVEGordon. Hurst, Burlingame, Calit.

Application September 23, 1942, Serial No. 459,457

- 2 Claims.

' The present invention, relates to improvements in a diverter valveand'it consists of the combinations, constructions-and arrangementshereinafter described and claimed;

This-application is a continuation: in part of my copendingapplicationon a Fire fighting nozzle,- Serial No. 390,948; filed April 29, 1941. Inthe copending case-I showa fire fighting nozzle with a straight streampassage and afog-producing passage. A diverter' valveis used fordirecting the fluid either into, the straight stream passage or thespray producing passage. In the copending case the claims are directedto the'f'og producing mechanism while in the present case I willdescribe and claim the diverter valve;

The valve is designed to operateunder high liquid pressure such as livehundred pounds to the square inch or even higher. The valve can functionproperly under lower pressures as well. The valve is designed to offernegligible resistance to the fluid as it flows therethrough. The valvemay be turned for directing the fluid into the desired passageway. andthe mechanism for turning the valve is such as to cause the valve toopen and close slowly; This eliminates hydraulic shock caused by theabrupt closing of the valve which creates enormous pressures which mustbe absorbed by the hose, fittings, pumps, valves,. etc.

The passage in. the diverter. valve aligns with either the straightstream passage or the fog producing passage depending in which position.the valve is in, with the result that there is a minimum pressure dropin either the fog or. straight stream position. The valve passagewaysand the diverter valve body are designed to reduce the turbulence inthefluid passingthrough the nozzle.

Another advantage of the valvelies in theinovel means. for sealingtheivalve body against leak-- age while permitting it to be. rotatedfreely. The valve body may he quickly removed from thelvalve casing forrepair or renewal in case either. is necessary. The device is. extremelysimple in construction and isdurable and efficient for thepurposeintended.

Other objects and advantages, will appear in the followingspecification, and the novel features. of

the device will be particularly pointed out in the oppended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying. drawing forming apartof this. application; in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section through the firefighting nozzleillustrating-the diverter valve,

the fog producing end of the nozzle being shown in elevation;

Figure 2 is a transverse section through the device taken along the line2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view of the stationary valve plate looked at from the leftof Fig. 1;

Figure 4 is a view of the rotatable valve plate looked at from the leftof Fig. 1; and

iii

Figure5 is a transverse section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should beunderstood that various changes or modifications may be made within thescope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In carrying out my invention I provide a fire fighting nozzle indicatedgenerally at A. This nozzle has a straight stream passage i and a fogproducing passage 2. A removable nozzle tip 3 is threaded into the endof the passage l and bears against a rubber gasket 4. The fog producingpassage has two valved bodies 5 and 6 provided with transverse openings1, 8 that place passage 2 in communication with the casing outletopenings 9 and Hi. Openings 8, 9 are inclined to cause the two fluidstreams passing therethrough and through openings 9, it to impinge forproducing the.fog or spray. The valve bodies may be retatable forvarying the angle of impingement between the two streams.

The present invention pertains to the diverter valve and the valve bodyis indicated generally at B in Figures 1 and 2. The valve body B iscylindrical in shape and is rotatably mounted in a cylindrical bore l lformed in the casing A. The bore I i has one end communicating with thecasing passageway l and 2. The valve body B has a. longitudinallyextending passage 52 that has a large entrance end. it and a small exitend is. The valve passageway i2 is substantially conical in shape forguiding the fluid that, enters the end E3. to. the exit end l4 with aminimum of. resistance. The exit end Hi maybe moved into. registrationwith either of the passageways l and 2 or. into a position which ismidway between. the two-,at which positionthe diverter valve is closed.

I, will now describe the means for making. the.

connection between the valve body B andthe cas- A leak proof. Astationary valve plate 15, see Figures 1. and. 3. two. openings !6 and Hthat register with. the passageways l. and 2.

Theplatehas circular flanges ta and lie aligned,

with the openings it and i! and these flanges enter recessed portions inthe entrance ends of thacasing passageways l and 2. The inner diametersof the flanges I60; and Ila are aligned with the inner diameters of thepassageways I and 2. The stationary plate I has a rubber washer I8 tomake a liquid tight seal between the plate and casing. The face I5a ofthe plate is ground for making a smooth flat surface for a purpose nowto be described.

A rotatable valve plate I9 is shown in Figures 1 and 4. This plate hasan opening 29 that registers with the exit end IQ of the valve passageI2. A circular flange a is aligned with the opening 26 and enters arecess I la in the valve passage I 2. The inner diameter of the flangeZila is the same as the diameter of the exit end I4. The plate I9 has aground surface Isa that contacts with the ground surface I5a. The twosurfaces make a liquid tight seal therebetween' while permitting thevalve body B to be rotated readily with respect to the plate I5.

The means for holding the valve body B in place comprises a tail piece2! that is threaded into a threaded portion 22 of the casing A and isconnected to a hose, not shown. A gasket 23a is placed between the tailpiece 26 and the valve body for forming a liquid tight seal between thetwo parts. The tail piece prevents the removal of the valve body fromthe casing. When the tail piece is removed, the valve body may beremoved for the purpose of renewing it or for resurfacing or renewingthe plates !5 and I9.

I provide means for limiting the rotation of the valve and for stoppingit when the end I4 of the passage I2 registers either with the passage Ior the passage 2. In Figures 1 and 5 I show the valve body provided witha circumferential groove 23 that extends a predetermined distance aroundthe valve body. A set screw 2 is carried by the casing and enters thegroove. The set screw serves a double function of holding the valve bodyagainst removal when a tail piece is changed and of limiting therotative movement of the valve body in the casing. The ends of thegroove 23 are reached when the eXit end I4 is in alignment with eitherthe passage I or the passage 2. In Figure 5 I show the groove 23extending around the circumference of the valve body, and the length ofthe groove is such that the set screw will abut either groove end whenthe exit end I I is in registration with either the passage I or thepassage 2. The set screw therefore not only limits the rotation of thevalve body so that the exit end It registers with the passages I and 2,but in addition prevents the valve body from being removed from thecasing even after the tail piece 2! is removed. The set screw thereforeacts as an auxiliary means for holding the valve body against removalfrom the casing. This is needed when a different sized tail piece isbeing connected to the valve.

The means for rotating the valve into any one of three positionscomprises a worm that is rotatably mounted in the casing A. Figure 2shows the worm shank 25a. as being mounted in a packing gland 2B. Theworm engages with a worm gear Z'I formed on the periphery of the valvebody B. A handle 28 is pivotally connected to the worm shank 250, at 22.A spring pressed pin, 30 is carried by the handle and is adapted toenter either one of two recesses BI in the shank 25a. The handle can beswung from inoperative position. which is shown in Figure 2, intooperative position, which is shown by the broken lines in the samefigure. The spring pressed pin 30 frictionally holds the handle ineither position, release of the pin being accomplished by extra manualforce applied to the handle in moving it from one position to the other.It will be noted from Figures 1 and 2 that the bottom of the casing hasa recess 32 for receiving the hand grip portion 28a of the handle.

The passages I and 2 are disposed apart and the neutral or closedposition of the valve body is when the exit end is disposed 120 awayfrom both passageways I and 2. The gearing ratio between the worm andthe worm gear is such that to move the exit end I 4 of the valve passageI2 from neutral or closed position into registration with either one ofthe passages I and 2, the handle 28 must be rotated three times,although I do not wish to be confined to any exact number of turns forthe handle. For example, the valve handle 28 is rotated three times in aforward direction to move the exit end It into registration with thestraight stream passage I. The casing may be marked to indicate in whichdirection the handle must be rotated to cause the water or other fluidto issue from the nozzle to produce a straight stream or a fog. Thethree revolutions forward or reverse of the handle will cause the valvepassage I2 to be gradually brought into registration with the casingpassageways or out of registration therewith. This prevents the abruptclosing of the valve and high fluid pressures can be handled withoutundue hydraulic shock due to the too sudden closing of the valve body. I

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood.

The operator can connect either fluid passage I or 2 with the valvepassage exit end I4 by rotating the valve in the manner described. Theactual rotative movement between the valve and the casing occurs betweenthe plates I5 and I9. The contacting surfaces of the two plates aremetal and provide a liquid tight seal. The greater the pressure of thefluid in the hose and nozzle, the greater the sealing effect of thevalve because the conical passage I2 produces a thrust on the valve bodyB and plate Is that moves the plate into closer contact with the plateI5. The rotation of the valve is easy regardless of the fluid pressurebecause the flat metal contact between the two plates consists of twoground surfaces Iiia and I9a and the rotation of the valve body iseffected by a worm and worm screw mechanism. The flanges on the platesguide the water or other'fiuid from the valve passage I2 into eithercasing passage I or ,2. The flanges Zea, Ilia and IIa provide acontinuous fluid passage that .will prevent the fluid from leakingbetween the valve parts. The slow moving of the valve body B preventshydraulic shock when the valve is closed.

The nozzle tip 3 can be changed for altering the size of the stream thatissues from the straight stream passage. When thefluid is directed intothe fog stream passage, the fog producing valves 5 and It may be rotatedinto a position tocreate a fog of the desired type. This feature is setforth in detail in the copending case and needs no further description.The gaskets ti and 23 and the washer is may be made of synthetic rubber.The worm and worm gear drive between the handle and the valve bodypermit an easy operation of the valve even at high fluid pressures. Theworm locks the valve body against accidental rotation. The handle swingsinto an out of Way position when not in use.

One of the principal if not the most outstanding features of thisparticular valve is the direct flow of water or fluid either through thefog producing channel or the straight stream channel. This is caused bythe diverted valve body passage extending parallel to both the straightstream and fog producing passages or channels. The result of such astructure produces a nozzle having an effective straight stream or fogwith a minimum of pressure drop in the fog position. In designing thenozzle disclosed in this case and in my companion case, I had the pointin mind of obviating the turbulence incident to the other manufacturednozzles when they produced a fog for it is the turbulence that causesthe drop in fluid pressure and friction.

I claim:

1. A diverter valve comprising a casing having a plurality of outletpassageways leading from an end of a cylindrical bore, a valve body r0-tatably mounted in the bore and having a longitudinal passageway adaptedto be brought into registration with any one of the desired casingpassageways, a stationary plate placed in the bore and having flangedopenings communicating with the casing passageways, a rotatable platebearing against the stationary plate and having a flanged Openingcommunicating with the valve body passageway, the abutting surfaces ofthe plates being ground to provide a liquid tight seal, and means forrotating the valve body and rotatable plate as a unit.

2. A diverter valve comprising a casing having a plurality of outletpassageways leading from an end of a cylindrical bore, a valve bodyrotatably mounted in the bore and having a longitudinal passagewayadapted to be brought into registration with any one of the desiredcasing passageways, a rotatable plate at one end of said body formedwith an opening communicating with said passageway, means securing saidrotatable plate to said body for rotation therewith, a stationary plateplaced in the bore and having flanged openings communicating with theopening in said rotatable plate, said rotatable plate and saidstationary plate being in abutting relation to each other and havingabutting surfaces ground to provide a liquid tight seal, means forrotating the valve body and rotatable plate as a unit, and a washerplaced between the stationary plate and the end wall of the bore.

GORDON F. BURST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 695,963 Studer Mar. 25, 19021,487,762 Spuhr Mar. 25, 1924 1,732,608 Lehnert Oct. 22, 1929 1,569,285Katona Jan. 12, 1926 1,458,203 Tanner June 12, 1923 555,573 Haas Mar. 3,1896 265,573 Callahan Oct. 10, 1882 192,880 Ryon July 10, 1887 170,138Westland Nov. 16, 1876 1,968,391 Hamilton July 31, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 780,692 French Feb. 4, 1935

